Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
Plan, Plan, Plan! I would recommend asking your CT if they have a schedule planned for the year. If so kindly request a copy of it. Then over winter break start writing lesson plans. Try to write as many as you can! you don't want to have to think about writting them while you are teaching. You want to think how you are going to modify them and make them better.
If you are having trouble at your placement, academic or behavioral get Moe or Jay in their A.S.A.P. They can give you information that will get you back on track with your class. This also keeps them informed of the challenges you are having and will look better if they understand what is going on during an evaluation.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
You should elaborate more on Formal and Informal Lesson Plans. I the students are going to complete a Unit Plan they should have to submit the one lesson plan a week or bi-weekly. This should keep them on schedule.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
"If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...." knew more classroom management skills / Tricks. This would have helped a lot. I would also work on getting passwords to school computers/ printers and any online grading systems. I often had to print a handout and went to a computer lab to only have 30 perfectly capable computers mok me because I did not have a password.
I hate to say it, but Hang Em' High A.S.A.P. You need to set an example quickly and follow through with your rules. Being a science teacher, you have the advantage of students thinking you're crazy to begin with. Keep up the act even if you are not. If they think you are a little off your rocker it can be to your advantage.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
Congratulations you have served your time or will soon serve your time. For most I would say student teaching is one of the most difficult parts of your undergraduate degree. You will be getting up at about between 5:00 - 6:00am every morning for the next 14 weeks. I would recommend adjusting your sleep patterns during winter break to ease the transition. I would also try to get into an exercise routine that you can stick to. Exercise will help you throughout student teaching. It will relieve stress and make up for your lack of movement. Despite being on your feet all day you are not burning as many calories as you would like. I would also recommended a water bottle. Talking all day makes you very thirsty and you will not have time to drink as much water as you would like. The lucky thing about being in science is that we have sinks in our class to fill said water bottles up.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
Plan, Plan, Plan! I would recommend asking your CT if they have a schedule planned for the year. If so kindly request a copy of it. Then over winter break start writing lesson plans. Try to write as many as you can! you don't want to have to think about writting them while you are teaching. You want to think how you are going to modify them and make them better.
If you are having trouble at your placement, academic or behavioral get Moe or Jay in their A.S.A.P. They can give you information that will get you back on track with your class. This also keeps them informed of the challenges you are having and will look better if they understand what is going on during an evaluation.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
You should elaborate more on Formal and Informal Lesson Plans. I the students are going to complete a Unit Plan they should have to submit the one lesson plan a week or bi-weekly. This should keep them on schedule.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
"If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...." knew more classroom management skills / Tricks. This would have helped a lot. I would also work on getting passwords to school computers/ printers and any online grading systems. I often had to print a handout and went to a computer lab to only have 30 perfectly capable computers mok me because I did not have a password.
I hate to say it, but Hang Em' High A.S.A.P. You need to set an example quickly and follow through with your rules. Being a science teacher, you have the advantage of students thinking you're crazy to begin with. Keep up the act even if you are not. If they think you are a little off your rocker it can be to your advantage.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
Congratulations you have served your time or will soon serve your time. For most I would say student teaching is one of the most difficult parts of your undergraduate degree. You will be getting up at about between 5:00 - 6:00am every morning for the next 14 weeks. I would recommend adjusting your sleep patterns during winter break to ease the transition. I would also try to get into an exercise routine that you can stick to. Exercise will help you throughout student teaching. It will relieve stress and make up for your lack of movement. Despite being on your feet all day you are not burning as many calories as you would like. I would also recommended a water bottle. Talking all day makes you very thirsty and you will not have time to drink as much water as you would like. The lucky thing about being in science is that we have sinks in our class to fill said water bottles up.